Journal of the Czech Geological Society 48/34(2003)

207

History of discovery and study of new primary minerals at JáchymovHistorie objevù a výzkumù nových primárních minerálù z Jáchymova(2 figs, 1 tab.)
FRANTIEK VESELOVSKÝ1  PETR ONDRU1  ANANDA GABAOVÁ1  JAN HLOUEK2  PAVEL VLAÍMSKÝ112Czech Geological Survey, Klárov 3, CZ-118 21, Prague 1
U Roháèových kasáren 24, CZ-100 00, Prague 10Jáchymov is the type locality for the following primary minerals: argentopyrite, krutovite, millerite, sternbergite, and uraninite. The historyof their discovery is described in this contribution. The paper sums up the history of discovery of other type minerals at Jáchymov [560].
Key words: Jáchymov, mineralogy, history of discovery

Argentopyrite(W. Sartorius von Waltershausen 1866)
The discovery of this mineral was reported by W. Sartorius von Waltershausen at the meeting of the Royal Society of Sciences on December 6, 1865 and published inJanuary 1866 in a joint Newsletter of the Society and theGöttingen University [438]. He named the new mineral
Silberkies. The history behind the discovery of argentopyrite is as follows:
During his stay in Pøíbram in summer 1865, W. Sartorius met the ministerial Councillor Kudernatsch, who had
just returned from his inspection trip to Jáchymov, andhe showed W. Sartorius a recently found unknown mineral. The specimen carried proustite intergrown with amineral similar at first glance to marcasite or pyrrhotite.
Councillor Kudernatsch allowed to break off a part of thespecimen covered by crystals of this mineral. W. Sartorius separated 22 mg of pure material to be used in microscopic, crystallographic and chemical study. Several
weeks later he visited Jáchymov and, with approval of theMining Councillor Walther, he could inspect numerous
samples. About ten samples carried the unknown mineral. However, Walther turned down the request to use thesesamples for study without a special permit from Vienna.
At the meeting of the Royal Society for Sciences onFebruary 3, 1866, W. Sartorius reported on this mineralas argentopyrite, using an old specimen from the private collection of the mining administrator Lippmann.
The specimen originated from the defunct mine Neu
Leipziger Glück in Johann-Georgenstadt (W. Sartorius
1866 [529]).
As early as on June 12, 1866, G. Tschermak [469] reported his results from the study of the same mineral at
the meeting of the Emperors Academy of Science, andpublished them in the Reports from this meeting. Throughefforts of the Director Hörnes, 9 specimens of this mineral were found in the Emperors Mineral cabinet andadditional 2 specimens in the University collection. Tschermak assumed that the mineral had been known before and that it was identical to the material described asmarcasite pseudomorphs after stephanite or proustite byZippe in 1832. In 1852 and 1853, Kenngott described themineral as accompanying pyrargyrite and by that time
A. E. Reuss designated it as pyrrhotite. His observations
led Tschermak to the conclusion that argentopyrite is not
an independent mineral but a pseudomorph of several
minerals after an unknown mineral.

Fig. 1. Label of argentopyrite in the collections of the National Museum Prague. Photo J. Sejkora.

Krutovite(Vinogradova 1976)
The original samples were collected at Potùèky on a defunct mine dump near a former storehouse of technological samples. The mineral was described as an unusual
gersdorffite intergrown with nickel-skutterudite on quartzby Kapar and Padìra in 1970 [489].
Later on, the mineral was studied by Vinogradova etal. and described in 1976 [335] as a new mineral krutovite. The original locality of the samples was reinterpretedto Jáchymov, Svornost shaft, 8th level, Geschieber vein.
It was assumed that barrels with the raw material weremoved to Potùèky for silver processing.

208Millerite(W. Haidinger 1845)
A. G. Werner described a mineral which he named
Haarkies from Johann-Georgenstadt in Saxony in1789 [223]. This mineral was reported from Jáchymovin 1803 by F. A. Reuss, medical doctor in Bílina, in
his textbook on mineralogy and geognosy [614]. Thecurrent name millerite was introduced by Haidinger in1845 [357], who noted that the mineral occurs in Jáchymov.
Sternbergite(W. Haidinger 1827)
In 1826, W. Haidinger visited the mineralogical collection in Prague in the Museum of the Kingdom of Bohemia. Its curator F. X. Zippe attracted his attention to apeculiar mineral, which could not be identified with anyof the known mineral species. The same mineral appearedin the collection of the councillor Neumann, the former
professor of chemistry, in Prague. Haidinger took both
specimens for a detailed study to Edinburgh and foundthat it was a new mineral species. He named the mineralsternbergite after the founder of the Bohemian Museum,the Count K. Sternberg. W. Haidinger did not exclude thepossibility that the malleable silver sulphide (argentsulfuré flexible) previously described by Count Bourbon [491] was identical with sternbergite. Zippe performed the analysis of sternbergite and tried to synthesize this mineral using appropriate proportions ofargentite, pyrite and FeS or Ag, Fe, S, but he did not succeed. A porous and magnetic bronze-coloured mass withhardness 3 and density of 5.25.5 g/cm3 was obtained.
A notable quantity of sternbergite was found in theJunghäuerzecher vein in March 1860, and most of thematerial was bought by the Krantz Company [363].
Preis [526] obtained two sternbergite analyses in 1875,
using the material provided by K. Vrba. Additional analyses on material from Jáchymov were done by Rammelsberg and Janovský [525].

Fig. 2. Label of sternbergite in the collections of the National Museum Prague. Photo J. Sejkora.

Journal of the Czech Geological Society 48/34(2003)

T a b l e 1 . List of historical chemical analyses of sternbergite.

Zippe
Preis
PreisRammelsbergJanovský

[526]
[526]
[526]
[525]
[525]

AgFeS

33.20
37.30
37.40
35.27
30.03

36.00
27.90
27.60
35.97
34.67

30.00
32.90
33.90
29.10
33.14

SiO2

Total

99.20
98.10
98.90
100.341.32 99.16

Uraninite(F. E. Brückmann 1727)
Although uraninite was encountered already by early Jáchymov miners, its composition remained a mystery fora long time. It was introduced in the literature with Jáchymov locality by Brückmann in 1727 [494].
This German medical doctor and geognosist presented a detailed listing of Jáchymov minerals in a script entitled Magnalia Dei in Locis Subterraneis (The Greatnessof God in Subterranean Sites). Uraninite is listed asSchwartz Bech Ertz, i.e. black pitch ore, which contains silver, copper and lead.
I. Born [181] considered uraninite as a zinc ore (Argentum zincosum nigrum squamosum opacum) in his 1772
catalogue of Jáchymov minerals  a widespread opinion
by that time  but mentioned Pseudogalena nigra compacta, i.e., Pechblende = pitchblende from the mines ofFriedenfeld and Hohe Tanne (Vysoká jedle). In anothercatalogue of Jáchymov mineral collection from 1790 [197],
he described pitchblende as amorphous blende with sparkling fracture and mentioned a yellow oxide in one sample of uraninite. This may be the first literature reference
to the formation of yellow secondary minerals from uraninite. Otherwise, yellow uranium oxides were considered
as resulting from tungsten oxidation.
The name uranin (later uraninite) was introduced byW. Haidinger in his mineralogical monograph publishedin 1845 [357].
For centuries, miners in Jáchymov treated uraninite asa waste and threw it on dumps. It was the application ofuranium compounds as colours in glass and porcelain industry, which triggered interest in uraninite. Increasing
demand in yellow, orange and black colours led to uraninite mining as well as to collecting in old dumps. The
discovery by M. Sklodowska-Curie and P. Curie of theelements polonium and radium was based on processingof material remaining after production of uranium coloursin Jáchymov. After the decline of demand for uranium colours, the factory changed its programme to productionof radium compounds. Even this programme was stopped
after the discovery of large uranium deposits in Canadaand Congo, providing cheap uraninite.

Historie objevù a výzkumù nových primárních minerálù z Jáchymova
Jáchymov je typová lokalita pro následující primární minerály  argentopyrit, krutovit, millerit, sternbergit a uraninit. Je popisována historie objevù apopisù tìchto minerálù. Èlánek doplòuje historii objevù minerálù, pro které je Jáchymov typová lokalita a které byly publikovány v roce 1977 [560].